5 Alternate Replacements For Andres Iniesta
Barcelona skipper Andres Iniesta, the 33-year old Spanish maestro, who joined the club's famed La Masia academy as a 12-year ends a two-decade-long relationship with his boyhood club. He will leave the club with 32 trophies after having made over 670 appearances in all the competitions.
The legendary figure is one of the most admired football players on the planet as he is one of a very select few to have been applauded at the Santiago Bernabeu. Though Don Andres hasn't announced his next destination yet, he stated that he will not be able to play against Barcelona, which means that he's most likely to move outside of Europe, with US and China touted to be the possible locations.
Iniesta has mesmerised the world with his talent over the past decade. The twinkle-toed midfielder was the heartbeat of the famed Barcelona team along with close friend Xavi. He made everything look easy on the eye, as his precise passing, ball control made him almost impossible to stop.
Iniesta will leave as one of the greatest midfielders of his generation and though Barca already signed Philippe Coutinho as a possible replacement, the club will still need someone to fill into Iniesta's considerably large shoes as the current midfield setup lacks the quality needed to challenge for the UCL title again.
Here is a look at some very good midfielders capable of replacing the great man:
Available on free transfer: Jack Wilshere (Arsenal)
Jack Wilshere has been extremely unfortunate with injuries throughout his career. The English midfielder, as a 19-year old just beginning his football career, dominated the famed duo of Xavi and Andres Iniesta at their prime in a shock 2-1 win at the Emirates Stadium.
This put him on the radar of Barcelona, only for a cycle of devastating injuries to rock his progress.
Wilshere is a complete midfielder, who can breeze past defenders with relative ease. Not only is he good at recycling the ball, but he is also capable of playing that killer pass. He's also got a sweet left foot and he's capable of the odd-goal.
This is proof that Wilshere could step into Iniesta boots, as he's also familiar with the tiki-taka style that Barca employ as it's very similar to Arsenal's playing style. His defensive game and positional awareness have also improved with age.
It is due to his resilience and the unique gifts that he possesses that every time you think the England International is done, he forces his way back into contention. He began this season on the fringes of the Arsenal squad but a campaign that has seen him stay injury-free has seen him get back to the level he displayed against Barcelona all those years ago.
It's stunning the Arsenal number 10 hasn't been offered a contract yet by Arsenal, so he's available for free in the summer. Wilshere might now reject a contract if Barcelona do indeed, come calling.